The Regional Municipality of Halton recognizes the inherent environmental issues associated with construction projects, such as pollution, disruption to the local communities, traffic interruptions, and high resource consumption. To help address these concerns, the Region adopted a Green Procurement Policy that integrates sustainability considerations into the decision process at all phases of a project’s (and product’s) lifecycle. For three recent road resurfacing projects, this forward-thinking approach allowed the Region to realize improved environmental net benefits, as well as cost-savings, through implementing more sustainable technologies, and getting them to work in the “real world.” Traditional road resurfacing projects involve pavement removal and disposal, production, transportation, and placement of asphalt. These activities consume considerable energy and resources, as well as disrupt the local community. Recognizing this, efforts were made during the planning stage to find “greener” methods. Detailed pavement condition assessments undertaken at the planning stage found that three innovative, “green” solutions could be used: CIREAM (cold-in-place recycling with expanded asphalt mix), SAMI (stress absorbing membrane interlayer), and pulverized asphalt. Although these technologies are not new, the Ontario engineering and construction industry has been relatively slow to adopt their regular use, mostly due to general unfamiliarity and uncertainty about their historical track records
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